Celebrating African American music, life 07-26-09

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, July 25, 2009

LaTosha Wall recently had the experience of a lifetime when she attended the 15th annual Essence Music Festival in New Orleans over the Fourth of July weekend.

"This was my first time to go, and I really enjoyed it," Wall, who has served as director for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in Plainview for six years, said.

Started in 1995 as a celebration of the 25th birthday of ESSENCE Magazine, every Fourth of July weekend features three days of cultural activities and three nights of performance by some of the greatest African American artists, its Web site boasts.

About 270,000 people attend the yearly event, and this was the first year it was completely sold out, Wall said.

She heard about the festival while visiting friend Latonya Brown, a former Plainview resident who now lives in Dallas.

Brown attended the event in the past and had several pictures. Wall thought it looked like fun and they immediately started planning their own trip.

Wall left for New Orleans on July 2 to meet Brown in Dallas.

The hotel the two stayed in was on Bourbon Street, which was where several parties took place during the weekend.

Before heading off to the festival, they enjoyed fine dining at Chef Emerils Lagasse's restaurant NOLA.

"The food was amazing," Wall said.

On Friday, the women awoke ready for the experience.

Wall said it was amazing.

"There was music playing everywhere . . .," she said. "Everything was laid back, but very well put together. I was impressed."

Some of the seminars Wall looked forward to the most were by Bill Cosby, comedian Steve Harvey and author Dr. Juanita Bynum. She even got to meet Harvey after standing in line for what seemed like hours.

"This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing," she said.

She also got to see celebrities such as Beyonce, John Legend and Queen Latifah.

She said the one thing that impressed her the most was witnessing her culture.

"Being down there at the biggest African American music festival in the world is what wowed me the most," she said. "I liked the many different African American people that were there - the talent and the well-educated individuals. That is what that is . . . my culture. I love it, embrace it and wouldn't change who I am for the world."

Wall hopes her trip was the start of a tradition that will continue.

"We're already saving for next year," Wall said. "I want every African American person to attend. I'm definitely going to make it back. I plan to go even if no one else does."